DeLAND, Fla. – A 57-year-old man is under investigation for a possible hate crime after he was accused of hanging a noose from a tree outside a DeLand home, authorities said.
According to officials, David Dabney, 48, who is the caretaker of the home went outside early Wednesday to look after an animal when he noticed a rope fashioned into a noose near the house.
Dabney said the discovery came several hours after he argued with a lawn maintenance worker about money owed for services rendered. He told Local 6 he didn't think the argument would turn into this.
"I was angry. I'll admit it yes. That did anger me," Dabney said.
Dabney alerted the property owner about the noose, and the property owner contacted the worker, William Ralston, who admitted to placing the noose near the house, authorities said.
Dabney notified deputies and said he wanted to press charges, adding that he fears that Ralston will try to harm him, officials said. In a Volusia sheriff's report, Dabney described the incident as an "apparently intentionally ethnically motivated threat."
"I was concerned. I'm working here. I don't know what's going on. Am I going to have a Molotov through the window, a burning cross in the front yard," said Dabney.
Deputies said they talked to Ralston, who said the rope was part of a Halloween decoration and had been there for a long time. He said he tied it into a noose to "make it more interesting." Deputies, however, said it did not appear the rope had been there for months.
Charges of assault or intentional threat do do violence were filed with the state attorney's office.
An investigation is ongoing.
Ralston released a statement, saying: "I didn't do anything intentionally. The rope and noose was already there for a year and a half. I did have the noose for parties as a gag but it was never there for racial vendetta or anything."
Deputies said due to the elements of the incident and Ralston's intent, investigators are calling this a hate crime. Meanwhile, Dabney said whether it was meant as a harmless joke or not, this incident shouldn't be taken lightly.
"If this is the mindset that someone has, oh well, I'll hang up this Halloween decoration and it'll be funny. Funny to whom?" said Dabney.